Record transfer device for automatic phonographs



Nov. 9, 1937. J. H. TEAF RECORD TRANSFER DEVICE F-OR ATOMATIC PHONOGRAPHS Filed April 1o, 1954 l ,Zw

y Patented` Nov. 9, v1937 UNITED STATES 1 PATENT orrice RECORD TRANSFER DEVICE Foa-AUTO-' MA'rro PnoNoGnArns John n. rear, canaen, N. 5., assignmtonada Corporation of America, a corporation o! Deia- Wale Application April 1o, 1934,- seriai No. "119,831 :g

'zz calms..A (crau-1o.)

Benjamin R. Carson, Serial No. 700,492, led on.

December 1,-1933, and-assigned to the Radio Corporation of America. In said application, there is shown an automatic phonograph of the 1,5 type indicated above wherein a plurality of disc vrecords are threadedon a retractable' center pin and are maintained, during playing of the topmost record of the stack, in -pressing engagement with the turntable by arecord'ejector arm piv- 20 otallymounted to one side of the turntable for both horizontal and vertical movement. The free end of the arm is provided with a universally mounted friction disc by means oi which most of the weight .of the arm is concentrated on the 25 records of the stack and with a iinger which extends through the center 'opening of the topmost record of the stack and depresses the center pin .the thickness of that record when `said frictionv disc rests thereupon. fAt the completion of play- 30 ing of `a record, suitable mechanism imparts a horizontal movement to the ejector arm to cause 40 the Carson machine is made comparatively heavy.

` However, this causes the arm to drop down onto the record stack with great torce and not only endangers the life of the records, but also oc-V casionally causes the needle, already in engage- 'tpment with the topmost record of the stack, to

. jump several grooves, whereby the first portiony of the selection is lost. Moreover, the Carson machine lacks means for insuring that the ejector arm will remain in'elevated posi- 5o' tion when raised to its highest vertical position to permit loading ofl records on the turntable, this feature being desirable to prevent the ejector arm from-accidentally falling upon the y records and injuring them while they are being 55` loaded.

T he primary object of my inveftion is to provide animproved record ejector a for a phonograph of the type'set forth which will at all" times be effective to apply suflicient pressure to I.the stack to insure properfriction or gripping 5 action between the several records'thereof, but which will, nevertheless, be capable of coming to. rest gently upon the topmost record ofthe stack..

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved ejector arm the effective weight of which will vary with itsy state of operation.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide .an improved ejector 'arm which will be capable of applying relatively great pressure to the stack during playing of a record. I

' Another object of my vinvention is to provide an improved ejector arm which will be ineil'ective to apply great pressure to the stack at the time that it comes into engagement with the topmost record thereof.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved ejectorarm which will positively remain in elevated position when raised thereto, as during loading of records. 5

. returned to record engaging position on the stack,

the mass being ineffective,l in this position, to' cause the arm to engage the topmost record with any great force. However, after `the friction disc of the-arm has engaged the topmost record of the stack, the mass, preferably in the .46 l

form of a roller, is free to move to thek free end of the arm, and, in this position, itswelght' causes a relatively greatforce to be applied to the stack, so, that suiiicient friction is maintained between the several records of the stack to prevent slipping therebetween. When the ejector arm is raised toits elevated position, the mass moves to -a position" where its' center oi.'

-' `gravity is somewhat beyond thehorizontal plvotai axis of the arm and produces a suilicient moment to counterbalance the arm and retain it positivelyin elevated position.

In the appended claims',y thexnovel features that VI consider characteristic of m'yinvention'are 'set (Orth with' particularity. The invention itself, 55

' v table supported records;v i

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line lI--II of Figure 1; i

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing, in full lines, theposition assumed by the ejector arm immediatelyater having removed the previously played record, and showing, in dot-and-dash lines, the position to which the on the turntable;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view showing the position of the ejector arm corresponding to that shown in Figure 1; and

arm isv moved when it is desired'to load records Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing the position of the arm corresponding to the solid line position of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawing more in detail,l a mo tor board I supports a suitable motor (not shown) for driving .a hollow spindle 2 extending through an opening 3 in the motor board, the spindle!- carrying a turntable 4 on which Ya plurality of records R are supported in stackedrelation. `The records R are threaded on a center pin 5 retractable within the hollow spindle 2,-the center pin 5 being constantly urged upwardly by a coil spring 6 within the spindle 2 and being limited ,in its vertical travel, both upwardly and downwardly, byreason of a fixed pin 1 extending through the elongated slot 8 thereof.

Staked or otherwise suitably secured to the motor board I at one side of the turntable 4 isa bushing I0 in which is pivoted a -pin II staked `to a yoke I2, the bushing I0 having a. reduced portion in a extending a substantial distance below the motor board. The fyoke. I2 supports a horizontal shaft or` pin I3 which pivotally supports a second yoke I4 for swinging movement in a vertical direction, the yoke I4 Vbeing provided with a p air of vertically-spaced lateral extensions I5 and I6. The lower extension I6 is provided with a pin I1 which extends down through an arcuate opening I8 in the motor board I into the path ofmovement of a cam plate I9 whichis provided with a hub 2U rotatable on'the bushing extension Illa, while the upper extension AI5 is provided with an adjustable screw 2I adapted to cooperate with a record ejector arm 22 for lifting it. The ejector arm 22 is also mounted on the pinA I3 and, when engaged by thescrew 2l during upward travel of the yoke I4, is forced upwardly to partake of vertical movement in response thereto.

The ejector arm 22 consists of a bottom plate or base member 23 preferably provided with a pair of spaced, upstanding guides 24 and a pair of downwardly extending ears or lugs 25 by means of which the arm 22 is mounted on the pin I3, a cover 23a being supported on the base 23 and providing, with the base 23 and the guides 24a hollow space within which isiconned a freely movable mass M, preferably a rollerof substan-Y tial weight. The free end of the plate 23 is L apertured to receive a hollow, internally. threaded bolt 26 secured to the'plate 23 by a nut 21, the nut`21 also holding in place on the bolt 26 a bracket member l28 to which is secured aresilient shock-absorbing bumper 29 for aA purpose-hercdetail hereinafter, the bumpers 29 and preferably, of sponge rubber.

inafter more fully described. The opposite end of the arm 22 is also provided with a shock absorbing bumper 30 also to be referred to more in 30 being,

Threaded into the bolt 261s a center pin depressing finger 3| having an enlarged head 32, the finger 3i being locked to the bolt 26 by a nut 33 in desired relation to the rounded head of thebolt 26. The head 32v is spaced from the head of the bolt 26 a distance suihcient -to accommodate a friction disc 34 lprovided with a facing of 'felt or the like 35 and a spacing plate 36 which serves also as a ball race for the ball bearings 31. By making the central apertures in the disc 34 and the plate 36 of slightly greater diameter than that of the finger 3l, the friction 'disc 34 can, in conjunction with the rounded head of thebolt 26`and the ball bearings 31, partake of a substan- ,tial amount of universal action and thus accommodate itself to the surface of any record in the stack regardless ofthe level of that record.

When stacked on the turntable for playing, the records R are threaded on the center pin 5 and the free end of the ejector arm is permitted to rest upon the topmost record of the stack with the arm inclined downwardly toward the records about 3 to the surface of the turntable. In this position, the mass or roller M will roll down the inclinedbase 23 until it strikes the bumper 29 which will absorb the .shock thereof, and the weight of the roller M plus most of theweight of the ejector arm will be concentrated upon the records through the friction disc 34 which directly engages the topmost record of the stack and through which sufficient pressure is' applied to the stack to prevent slipping of the records relative to each other during reproduction. The head 32 `oi the finger 3| is so adjusted that, when ,the friction disc 34 is in engagement with the topmost record of the stack, the head 32 will depress the center pin 5 the thickness of only one record (Figure 1)., It will be noted that the diameter of the head 32 is the sameI as that of the center pin 5 and also the' same as the diameter of the center openings of the record. This, of course, is to keep the topmost record properly centered as it rotates, during reproduction, about the head 32, although deriving its rotary motion from the records below it by reason of the pressure applied through the disc 34.

At the completion of playing of arecord, the tone arm is removed therefrom and the cam plate I 9 is actuated in a clockwise direction about thebushing extension Ilia through its downwardly extending pin 38 by means of an actuating member 39 which is operated by any suitable mechanism, such as that'fully shown and de-.

scribed in the aforesaid co-pending application of Benjamin R. Carson, for example, although the specific mechanism is immaterial to the pres'- ent invention. Thereupon, the portion A-B of the cam plate I9 engages the pin I1 to move the yokes I2- and I4, and with them the arm 22, horizontally in a clockwise direction whereby the ejector arm removes the topmost record from the stack, since the center pin depressing finger 3I keeps the center pin 5 depressed just below the said record.-

Fixed to the motor board I is a second cam plate 40 having its cam edge 4I so overlapping a portion of the slot I3 that it lies in the path of movement of the pin I1. At about the time the ejector arm 22 has moved the4 played record to a position where the center of the Vrecord is just (it)l past .the peripheral edge ofthe next lowermost record, the pin I'I engages the cam "edge 4I and,

A clockwise movement at this time, and the combined effect of the cam .plates I9 and 40 on the ejector arm 22 is to give it a sort of whipping action, whereby it whips theplayed record oi into a-playedv record receptacle (not shown).

By this time, an extension 42 on the yoke I2 has reached a xed stop 43 on the motor board I, thus limiting further movement of the yoke I4, in a clockwise direction. However, the cam plate is arranged to continue its clockwise advance somewhat, as fully disclosed in the afore-l said lco-pending applicationof Benjamin R. Carson, and,'as it continues its clockwise advance, the cam portion B-C thereof raises the pin I'I away 'from the cam edge 4I. Thereupon, a spring 44, fixed at one vend to av pin 45 on the Vmotor board 'I and at the other end to a pin 46 extending downwardly from the yoke I2, pulls the yoke I2 `back slightly 'in acounter-clockwisel direction and forces the pin I'l into the dwell D of thev 41 extending 1 to the solid-line position of Figure S-Where the center of gravity thereof is in substantial vertical alignment with'the longitudinal axis of the pin I3, the shock absorber 30 now acting to absorb the above-identied Carson application and,

- while in its aforesaid intermediate position, to a point such'that its centerv pin depressing nger is in axial alignment with the center pin 5, as determined by the engagement of the extension 42 with an adjustable stop 48 on the motor board, and thev ejector arm thereafter is lowered onto the next succeeding record of the stack, the roller M is ineective to force the ejector arm down and to apply pressure to the stack, and the ejector arm 22 gently engages the new record upon being lowered; As soon, however, as the friction disc 34 has engaged the new4 record so that the ejector arm is inclined toward the turntable again at least 3, the roller again 'moves down into the position shown in Figure l against the member 29, whereupon its weight exerts a force on the stack suilicient to maintain the records thereof in desired frictional relation. l When loading records on the turntable, it is,

of course, necessary to -move the arm 22 out of arm 22 is inclined away from the turntable ap.

proximately 60 and the center of gravity of the L roller M is then tothe left of the pin I3, the

roller M being then at thelpoint of least elevation ofthe arm 22. 'I'he rollerA M then serves to counterbalance the-arm 22 since itsmoment of inertia about` the pin I3, in a counterclockwise di-v rection, is greater than the moment of inertia of the arm 22 about the pin I3 in a clockwise direction. Thus, the ejector arm 22 will be held positively in its elevated position without any Idanger of' accidentally falling upon the `records on -the turntable.;

Although I have shown and described a certain specific embodiment of my invention, it will modifications thereof and changes therein are possible without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in place of the mass M, the ejector arm may be provided with a dash-pot arrangement to cushion its fall Aupon the records. Also,` if desired, a suitable latch member may be apparent to those skilled in the art that many be employed to positively latch the ejector arm in its elevated position when raised thereto. Moreover, where a movable mass is employed, as described herein, the mass may be a. slidinginstead'of a rolling member, and the guides 24 may be eliminated, if desired. Other changes will, no doubt, readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. My invention, therefore, is

not to be restricted except insofar asis necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

I claimas my invention:

1. In a phonograph, a record transfer arm adapted' to engage a record and mounted for movement toward and away from the record. and means associated with said arm for variably controlling the force with which said arm engages the record.

2. In a phonograph including a record support,

a record transfer arm adapted toengage a record on said support, said arm being mounted to one side of said support for movement toward and away :from the record, and means movably mounted on said arm for controlling the force With'which said arm engages the record, said controlling means being movable in response to movement of said arm toward and away from the record.

3. Inl an automatic phonograph of the type wherein a plurality of records are stacked upon the turntablefor successive reproduction, a record ejector arm adapted to engage and press against the topmost record of the stack whereby to press all the records in the stack against the turntable for rotation therewith as a unit, and

-against the topmost record of the stack, said arm meansfor varying the degree of pressure appliedbeing mounted for movement toward and away ized in that said record ejector arm comprises a hollow structure and characterized further in that said controlling means comprises a .roller of substantial mass movable within said' hollow structure.

7. In a phonograph, the combination of a record support and` a record ejector arm, said ann a record on said support, and a mass freelymovv gage the record with a relatively small 8. In a phonograph, the combination of a record support and a record ejector arm, saidarm being mounted to one side of said support for pivotal movement in a vertical direction toward and awayffrom said support and being' inclined in which position said arm is adapted to engage able on said arm in response to movement thereof, said mass being adapted'to assume a position to cause said arm to exert a relatively great force on the record when said arm is in engagement therewith.

9. In a phonograph, the combination of a record support and a record ejector arm, said arm being mounted to one side of said support for pivotal movement in a vertical direction between a lowered position inclined toward said support and a raised position inclined away from said support, a mass freely movable on said arm in response to movement thereof between said positions, said arm being adapted, in its lowered position, to engage a record on said support, and said mass being adapted to assume a position on said arm when s'aid arm is in said lowered position to cause said arm to exert a relatively great force on the record and being'adapted, when said arm is in' said'raised position, to assume a position such that when said arm is again lowered onto a record on said support said arm will initially enorce.

10. In a phonograph,`the combinationof a record'support and a record ejector arm, said arm being mounted o n an for pivotal movement in a vertical directionbetween a lowered position inclined toward said support at a relatively small angle and an. elevated position inclined away from said support ata relatively great angle and said arm being adapted, when in said lowered position, to engage a record on said support, means for raising said I said intermediate position whereby said arm is arm to a position intermediate said lowered and elevated positions wherein said arm is inclined away from said support at a relatively small angle, a weighted roller freely movable on said.

arm, said axis lying intermediate the ends of said arm and` extending transversely thereof whereby said roller is adapted, when said arm is raised to its elevated position, to occupy a position wherein its center of gravity is on that side of said axis which will cause said roller to positively maintain said arm in said elevated position,

said roller being also adapted to occupy a positionl wherein its center of gravity is in substantial vertical alignment with said axis when said arm is in free to engage the record with comparatively small force, and said .roller being further adapted -axis when said arm is in to occupy a position on the other side of said whereby said arm is adapted to exert a relatively great force on the record.

11. The' invention set'forth in claim 10 char# acterlzed in that said arm is so mounted with respect to said support that, in said elevated position, said arm is inclined approximately 60 -to said Vsupport-#ln said intermediate position,

said arm is inclined substantially 3 to the record on said support; .and in said lowered position,

axis adjacent said supportV said lowered pomtion l said arm is inclined not less than 3j tothe record on said support.

12.y In a phonograph including a lrecord support, a record ejector arm mounted forpivotal movement in a vertical direction relative to saidy support, said arm being free vated position inclined away and a movably mounted mass on said arm adaptto move to aneleed to be positioned to positively maintain said arm in said elevated position whensaid arm is raised thereto.

A 13. In a phonograph including a record support, a record ejector arm mounted between its ends and adjacent one of them on anaxis to one side of said support for pivotal movement in a vertical direction relative to'said support, said arm being free .to move to an elevated position inclined-away from said support, and a mass freely movable onsaid arm, said mass being adapted to occupy a position, when said arm is in elevated position, such that its center of gravity lies on' that side of said axis on which the point` movable within said member whereby its center of gravity may be changed.

16. A record transfer arm comprising a hollow,

elongated member, a record engaging member on one'end thereof, a mass movable within said member whereby its center of gravity may be changed, and a shock absorbing device adjacent each end of said member adapted to cooperate with said mass to absorb the shock thereof as it comes to rest after a period of movement.

1'7. A record .transfer arm comprising a base member provided with a pair of spaced, upstanding guides, a cover on said base member enclosing said guides and providing a hollow space bounded by said guides, said base member and from said support,

said cover, a record engaging member on one* end of said base member, a weightedfroller in said hollow space freely movable between said guides' from substantially one end of said arm to the other end thereof, and resilient means adjacent each end of said arm for absorbing the shock of said roller as it comes to rest after a period of movement in either one direction or the other along said arm. f

18. In an automatic phonograph of the type wherein a plurality of records are stacked upon the turntable for successive reproduction, a rec.

ord ejector Varm for removing the respective top-V most records from the stack, said arm being normally supported in angular relation to the rec# ords sin, the stack, means on said arm fof engaging the topmost record of the stack, means including a universal coupling whereby said record engaging means may accommodate itself to the surface of any record in said stack, and means movable along said armfor varying the pressure exerted by said arm on said stack.

19. In a phonograph including a record support, a record transfer arm mounted between its endsfor pivotal movement in a vertical direction relative to said support, and a mass freely movable on said arm between a point over said support andapoint clear of lsaid support in re- A I v:1,098,601 piosnse to movement of said arm about its pivotal -20. In a phonograph including a record support, a record transfer arm mounted on an axis to one side of said support for pivotal movement in a vertical direction relative to said support, and a massfreeiy movable on said arm between a point over said support and a point adjacent said axis in response to movement of said arm.

21. In a phonograph including a record support, a record transfer arm mounted on an axis to one side .of said support for pivotal movement in a vertical direction relative to said support,

v said axis lying intermediate the'ends of said arm and extending transversely thereof, and a mass freely movable on said arm between a point on one sideof said axis to a point on the other side thereof in response to movement of said arm.

22. In a phonograph including a record sin port, a record transfer arm mounted on an axis to one side of said support for pivotal movement in a -vertical direction relative to said support, said axis lying intermediate the ends of said arm and extending transversely thereof, and a mass freely movable on said arm between the ends thereof in response to the pivotal movement of said arm.

JOHN H. TEAF. 

